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If Your Kid Hates Veggies, They Might Just Be A 'Supertaster'

One of the most common plights of moms is eating. Kids can be so picky about what they will and won't eat. And it often begins to drive moms crazy after a while, because well, it's frustrating. Picky eaters can be like a constant "will they, won't they" guessing game when it comes to foods. Sometimes, what they like on Monday they will hate on Friday. The list of things that kids won't eat is likely long, but there is nothing quite as difficult as vegetables. So many moms will talk at length about how much their kids hate vegetables. Well, there might be an explanation for it now, your veggie hating kid may be a supertaster.

A what? Supertasters are a special type of people. What it essentially means is that they were born with a gene that makes them sensitive to bitter tastes. There are a lot of veggies that are bitter depending on how they are prepared. So because the bitterness is strengthened by this gene, you're going to be hard pressed to get them to eat a veggie. It's totally frustrating, but unfortunately, there is really nothing anyone can do about it.

So, you're probably wondering just how this whole supertaster thing came about huh? It is actually evolutionary. Supertasters go back to pretty much the beginning of time, back then it was necessary for early civilizations to be able to identify potentially life threatening foods. Bitterness is often a sign of being poisonous, so if something was bitter, they would spit it out and not die. Now, it's just a total pain in the neck. The other kind of terrible but helpful thing? It's genetic. So if one of the parents isn't that into vegetables (or wasn't when they were younger) then it's likely that they passed it down.

I can’t wait to be the parent that has the kid that none of their friends wanna come over because I give them grapes and hummus with vegetables as a snack 😢❤️

But fear not! While supertasters ma be averse to vegetables that are bitter, there are vegetables that aren't that bitter. Sweet potatoes, carrots and bell peppers are great options that are sweeter. Plus, they're very kid friendly. If you're looking for greens, peas and cucumbers are great options. You can also add things like cheese sauce over some of the more bitter veggies like brussels sprouts or broccoli. Or, ranch. Lots of kids like ranch dressing.

Honestly, the most important thing to do is not force them to eat something they don't like. You're just setting them up for the potential to never want to eat veggies ever. And that's not good. Give them time, and they just might come around.